This year s NBA Finals did not have his participation, but he was everywhere

The two teams in this year's finals, Thunder VS Pacers, although the game has not started yet (G1 on June 6), Fireworks always feel that these two seemingly unrelated teams seem to have some indescribable connection. Today, a sudden flash of light in my head, and I realized that the relationship between these two teams originated from one person - Paul George.

In a sense, the core players of the Pacers and Thunder's current core lineup are actually exchanged for Paul George. Although there is no George in the finals, there is a shadow of George everywhere. In this article today, let's take a look at how George helped these two teams stand on the finals stage.

Paul George's growth resume is a bit similar to McGrath's. At first, he was trained by the team as a defensive player, but he couldn't stand his luck and personal efforts. Both of them encountered a good opportunity. McGrath was straightened because the team's old flying rat Damon Stodmeier was traded, and George caught up with the team's boss Danny Granger seriously injured and was lifted to the core position of the team.

George played for seven years with the Pacers, but the season was reimbursed for one year, which was actually six years. His peak period was basically at the level of 23+7+4, with an offense and defense. In the past seven years, George has entered the All-Stars, three best teams and three best teams. In the summer of 2013, George received a five-year max salary contract of 92 million yuan.

The indicators of team performance are also remarkable. The Pacers and the Heat, who were in the high position at the time, fought in the Eastern Conference Final for two consecutive years. Although they both lost in the end, Pacers players, especially Paul George and Hibert, could leave the field with their heads raised. They beat James so hard that they had nightmares at night, dreaming of Hibert's black face...

It can be said that Paul George in those two years was not an exaggeration to say that he was the top small forward in the league who was only under James.

However, after the highlight, it was underestimated. In the four years since Paul George was traded in 2017, George only led the team to two playoffs, all of which were eliminated in the first round, and George's weakness was infinitely amplified, that is, his ability to shoot and defend and hold the ball and kill strongly.

George's shortcomings have led to the Pacers being by George's side in the past four years. Whether it is Monta Alice, Rodney Starki, or Jeff Teague, who holds the ball, George Hill, who is in charge of the organization, they are not good at all. Although George is nominally the boss of the team, he always leans on the role of the second leader while playing. In 2017, the Pacers learned from their mistakes and sent George to the Thunder, in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Sabonis Jr.

How George helped the Thunder take off, let's talk about the Pacers first.

Oladipo is the second place in 2013. He was 25 years old at the time. In the first four years, he averaged 16+4+4 in the Magic and Thunder, and his defensive ability is also good. In terms of star attributes, although the top defender is not considered a top defender, he is fine with talking about a first-class defender. At that time, his contract was 84 million in four years signed with the Thunder in 2017, with a full guarantee of 21 million per year.

When Oladipo first came to the Pacers, he also amazed everyone. In his first season, he not only won the first week, best month, and All-Star in his career, but also won the league's steal king with 2.4 steals per game, and also has a very heavy fastest-progress player with a bright future.

But the world is not as good as others wish. Next season, Oladipo suffered a serious injury from a torn tendon on his right knee. He was reimbursed for the season and took a year and a half before he returned. However, his condition was a world apart from before. In 2021, Oladipo was sent to the Rockets and got Carlis Left.

Left once played very well, averaging 18 points per game, but still failed to stay. The following year, Left was sent to the Cavaliers and got Ricky Rubio, whose contract was about to expire + Lotto protection first round pick from the Rockets in any year from 2022 to 2027 + The Rockets' second round pick in 2022 + Jazz's second round pick in 2027.

When you see this, are you going to be drowsy? What are you writing about? It’s been in 2020, and it has something to do with George!

The Mao relationship has emerged!

Note that the second round pick for the 2022 Rockets above!

In the 2021-2022 season, the Rockets only won 20 wins and 62 losses, with a record of the last in the league, so they won the first pick in the second round of the 2022 draft. The Pacers used this pick to select 22-year-old Canadian double-seater Andrew Nembhard.

Nembukhad can be said to be the biggest bead in this second round pick. He has no growth period, and he is fully physically. He played the starting guard in the Pacers in the rookie season. This play lasted for three years. He is tall, quick in movements, and strong single-defense ability. He just ended the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks. Brunson performed poorly in some games and had a direct relationship with his inability to play Buhad in singles. In the six games of the Eastern Conference Finals, although Buhad's average of 10+3+3 per game is not eyeing, but his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 43%. In the key G6, he contributed 6 steals and a net victory of as high as +25, which is the biggest contributor to the team's victory!

The finals stage, whether Alexander can defeat Buhard's defense will determine the trend of the entire series.

Let's trace the origin, and the walker can get the transaction between Buhad from Oladipo and Paul George, but in fact, there is also a person in this transaction, Sabonis, who needs to dig down along the line of Sabonis, which is even more amazing!

Xiao Sa was the 11th pick in the first round of 2016. He just spent his rookie season with the Thunder during the trade, averaging 5 points and 3 rebounds per game. He played for four and a half years. During this period, Xiao Sa grew from an unknown small inside line to an All-Star star.

There are always fans who say that it was the Pacers who trained Xiaosa. Of course, the Pacers were helpful to Xiaosa's growth, but I want to say that with Xiaosa's skills and fighting spirit back then, as long as the team management did not deliberately make trouble, Xiaosa can play sooner or later. After all, Shin Kyoto has played, Xiaosa is less than Shin Kyo. Shin Kyo can do it, and Shin Kyo can do it.

In 2022, the Pacers took Sasa as the main body and matched several characters, and exchanged Halliburton, Barty Hilde and Tristan Thompson from the King. Soon, Hield was traded to 76ers again, in exchange for two small characters + three second round picks. The Pacers did not waste these three second round picks. In 2023, the Pacers selected the Internet celebrity Isaiah-Wang in the 55th pick in the second round, and harvested a wave of traffic. In 2024, the 35th pick in the second round (the Spurs made up some cash and traded upwards) selected the 20-year-old young player Johnny Furfey, and the 49th pick in the second round, and the template was Enrique Freeman, who chased Dream Green. At present, except for the king being cut, the two young players behind were focused on training by the Pacers.

Of course, can these two young players play? In addition, it is mainly because Sasa exchanged for Halliburton. After the latter came from the King to the Pacers, he seemed to have Harry Potter's magic overnight. He gave assists and actually made an assist king. He played a crucial role in the Eastern Finals against the Knicks. Halliburton also played a crucial role. I will not go into details here.

, let's summarize. Four players from the Pacers who are about to start in the finals are players who traded Paul George and got it directly or indirectly, especially Halliburton and Buhard, which is said that without these two people, the Pacers would not be able to play in the finals!

How to say, George died, the whole family of Happy Walkers.

After talking about the Pacers, let's talk about Thunder. Thunder is even more ruthless. Their core SGA comes directly from Paul George's big deal.

Being said, George played for two years with the Thunder. With the help of my Turtle, he played the strongest performance in his career and his trading value soared. In that crazy summer in 2018, the Clippers paid a lot of chips to get the opportunity to sign Leonard. The specific chips are -

Alexander, Garlinari, 2022/2024/2026/Clippers' first round draft pick, 2021/2023 Heat's first round draft pick, and 2024/2025 first round swap rights. In this transaction, the Thunder can be said to be a big profit! Among the two players, Garlinari has no follow-up value. After three years of hard work in the Thunder, his contract expired and he signed the Hawks, mainly Alexander. He was the No. 11 rookie in the first round of 2018. He averaged 26 minutes in the Clippers in his rookie season and got 11+3+3 data.

Alexander at that time, although he looked at the average data, he had already shown his super potential. He could be inside and outside, offense and defense, and had a strong sense of competitiveness. He dared to take responsibility at critical moments. The God of Basketball Michael Jordan admired Alexander very much and once praised SGA on many occasions.

Old fans know that Jordan's skills are inversely proportional to his gaze. The more powerful he plays, the more he has, the more he has. At that time, the Clippers boss Ballmer originally thought that SGA was good, but after Jordan praised it, Ballmer suddenly felt that SGA was unclean and decided to trade it...

Do you think that the Thunder traded George and only gained an SGA?

NO! There are N draft picks behind!

In 2021, the Thunder held the Heat's first-round draft pick and became the 18th pick in the first round. The Thunder selected Trey Mann. Mann once played very well in the Thunder and firmly ranked sixth in the team. Unfortunately, with the rise of SGA, the team did not have a position to provide him. As a result, Mann was traded to the Hornets last year and obtained veteran Hayward and a first-round draft pick. Hayward retired after playing last season.

Mann averaged 14+3+3 in the Hornets in the regular season. He performed very well as a substitute, and his contract was still in the rookie contract period. That is, Thunder general manager Presti did not expect that the Thunder would reach the finals this season. If Mann had opened his eyes early and left a child labor contract, the Pacers' bench would have suffered.

The Clippers draft pick in the hands of the Thunder in 2022 became the 12th pick in the first round. The Thunder chose Jaylen Williams. Three years later, this season's regular season, Jaylen Williams has grown into an All-Star forward who can average 22+5+5 per game (I really entered the All-Star this season). After the Thunder and SGA, Jaylen Williams is more like the second in command than Chett. In the future, the combination of SGA+ Jaylen will be the core main framework of the Thunder.

The Heat draft pick in the 2023 Thunder became the 12th pick in the first round. They chose Derek Leffoli II, but on the night of the draft, Leffau sent Laibo to the Mavericks and received the 10th rookie Carson Wallace and the garbage contract Bertans, who paired with Mann to replace the Hornets in 24 years.

Carson Wallaces gave the nickname "Big Head Brother". It's not because he is so angry, but mainly because of the literal meaning. His head is really flat...

As a point guard who is not very good at organizing but can attack, the Big Head Brother performed well. This season's regular season averaged 8 points, a shooting percentage of 47%, and a quick stop jump shot is also acceptable. As a child labor contract, it can be used for two years, and being a substitute is very useful..

To sum up, compared to the Pacers, the Thunder is still the first-year high. George is used to exchange for a core player, and he is also the super core player who wins the regular season MVP. He is also a second-in-command at the All-Star level and a reliable substitute guard. Don’t forget that this is not over yet. The Clippers draft pick in the Thunder hand continued until 2026. Ballmer was so crying that he fainted in the toilet...

How to say, George died, and the whole family of the Thunder was happy.

Count in this finals, there are 24 registered players on both teams, and as many as 7 players are related to George's transactions. That's why I feel that although George is not involved in this season's finals, there is a shadow of George everywhere. What is George doing at this time?

I don't know, maybe I'm going to fish.

Okay, that's all for this article. What are the comments of the top brothers on the list? Let's discuss them together in the comment section. I feel that Fireworks is well written. I hope to get a small like + attention for encouragement. Thank you! Fireworks will continue to output high-quality original content to everyone.